Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-03-20
NEW YORK'S NO0NDAYDIN
5000 THROTTLE VALVES OPEN
AT ONCE.

Man, Beast and Bird Pause In Iher
Work to Satisfy the Cravings OF Hun
ger-Row Rat Made Feast on OF
hungry Little sparrow.
NEW YORK, March ia most un-
earthly noise is heard in New York every
day at high noon. The uproar begins as
soou as the time-ball drops on the West
ern Union building, and continues for
minute or more. 1t seems to NIL every
inch of space beneath the armament. 1t
is a compilation of means, shrieks,
yells, groans and similar tones OF horror
that would curdle the blood OF savage,
An old soldier who heard it said that 1t
sounded as though all the shells in the
universe were flying through the air at
once. On Broadway and in downtown
streets, where the roar of traffic is like the
roar of Niagara, this monday outbursti
| deadened. 1t comes to the ear there like
| confused murmur over the CHATTER o.
| horse-shoes, the jinglIng of car bells, the
| rumble of truck wheels, the thunder OF
| the elevated roads, and the striking OF
| town clocks. This confused murmur
| sounds like the roar of the surf in great
storm, when heard from the open win
| dows of Offices in such lofty edifices as
| the Field, the Kelly, the Mills, the Potter,
| the Morse and other buildings. 1t be-
| comes only startling realitY-sometning
| weird and uneanny-when 1t reaches you
ia the yards Of private residences, where
| the noises of the streets are shut out by
| surrounding brick and mortar. Heard
| from this point, the volume of sound Is
| inGescribable. 1t seems to gather
strength with duration, and to be re-
| echoed from the hearers in dismal
| fugue. An untutored bacKwOodsman
| miZht readily believe that an army OF de-
| mons was fighting in the air above him.
| 1t is the condemnation OF acoustic terrors.
This Internal ain marks the dinner hour
! for New York workingmen. Probably
! 5000 steam whistles are blowing at
| once. They vary in intensity from the
| shrek Of the little tugboat to the awtui
moan Of the great mandatory employ
| ing thousands, whose vibrations ialriy
! shake the anchorage OF your liver. An
| army of men swarm along the docks a
soon as the noise Is heard. they are
| stevedoTes, lOngshOremen and others on
| their way to dinner. In spring and sum-
mer the narrow streets downtown are
| filled with mechanics with inky arms and
| paper caps VINO squat on the iron graf
ings OF wholesale business houses and
eat their lunches. Baker shops are
| u WIN Subp SIIiS bufluR plSs anu
| cakes for the thousands employed In lofts
on Broadway aud elsewhere. Cheap
restaurants, where dinners are
served at from Is to 30 cents
| are packed with clerks and hun
cry urchins. The Italian fruit stands
do the best business OF the day. Clouds
| OF pulverized sugar settle on the watti9s
| turned out from the little furnaces at
| street corners, and the peanut vender is
| alive and attendant to duty.
1t is not only dinner hour for men,
but dinner hour for birds and beasts.
The sbrieking of the universal calliope
has hardly died away before hundreds of
| feed bags in hundreds of streets are
| filled with oats. ana drawn over the ears
! Of 10000 horses. These horses stand
everywhere, shaking their heads in an
effort to reach the bottoms OF the bags.
scattering oats over cutters and pave
| ments. Driver and horse are frequently
seen lunching together. The feed bags
themselves are g sight. Some have a
| wooden body, and are hemmed like sails.
| Others are made out of gunny bags and
| similar material, and Others still are COM
| posed of leather. Horses employed in
| distributing the mails enjoy their meals
in iron feed boxes ranged along Mail
| street in the rear OF the post office. Less
| feed is thus wasted. 1t is an economical
| Many Of these carry homemade wooden
| troughs beneath their seats, fitting legs
| into them, and planting them in front of
! their horses very much as a COney Island
| photographer plants his instrument be-
! fore an attracted cOuntryman. An army
| of sparrOws usually surrounds slObber-
| ing horse. 1t is their dinner hour. AS
! the oats drop from the tossing feedbags,
! they go into the crops of the sparrows.
| There is much competition for the choice
| grains, resulting in many a cOck-tlght.
| where Bersn and his society are set at
| open defiance Such fights usually last
| until one of the com bat&nts is knocked
out. They attract crowds of spectators.
| AT times TIE services OF the police are re-
| quired to dispense the blockade ana keep
| the wheels Of commerce in motion.
Along the wharves, however, the field il
not so clear for the sparrows. The rat
and the pigeon claim share of the
| spOIls. The rat here almost equals the
| sparrow in impudence. 1t seems 20 have
| no fear of man, and is so watchful ard
nimble that it avoids every missile aside
from the bullet OF pistol. The spar
rows frequently organize and give battle
! to the rodents. PicR Mcheon, u we'll
| known employe on the wharyes OF the
| Pennsylvania Company, assures me that
he has seen many an old rat lose its eye
| in fight with the sparrows. Once he
saw sparrow caught by one-eyed rat.
Ihe quadruped had apparently lost his
| eye in one 6fthe cat troubles some weeks
| before. 1t was clear that it was animated
| by spirit OF revenge.
| "For two days." says Pick, 81 saw the
| ratlyIng on his back, under string piece,
as though dead. One Of Daddy Reds horses
was spilling oats near by. and the spar
rows were filling themselves. On the
third day the horse had tantrum, aud
shook the oats all over the rat. the
sparrows ate the scattered oats first.
| They were evidently suspicious OF the
rat, although he had been lying there at
their dinner hour for two days. Finally
a bold little cock went up to the rat and
began to pick the oats from between
his mind legs. In a iIffy the rat doubled
on him, There was snap like the blades
OF jack-knife. The sparrow gave
| futter and a dying gasp, and the rat
| dragged him away with one wing trailing
! behind him."
Didn't you interfere ?' [ asked.
"Bet your dicer / didn't. l wouldn't
-HAI a. E..k-